Bill Would Allow Young Offenders To Be Named

A bill passed by the General Assembly this year would permit - but not require - judges to disclose to the public the names of anyone as young as 14 who has been accused of certain violent crimes.

Police and prosecutors are currently barred from releasing the identities of juvenile defendants unless the accused is transferred for trial as an adult, in which case his or her identity automatically becomes public information.

Gov. George Allen has not yet signed the bill into law but is considering it, a spokesman said Tuesday. Allen has until Monday to decide.

The bill was one of a handful in the General Assembly that would have limited juveniles' protection in criminal matters. The others failed to pass.

Del. Alan A. Diamonstein, D-Newport News, who sponsored several unsuccessful similar measures this year, said Tuesday that still tougher laws are needed to make young people and their parents more accountable for criminal acts.

A lot of juveniles know their names will not be made public "and they hide behind that anonymity," he said. Also, parents would be more involved if they knew their children's names would be disclosed publicly, Diamonstein argued.

Finally, Diamonstein said, the public interest is served by informing people in the community when someone in their midst, even a minor, is accused of a serious violent crime like murder, rape or assault.

Diamonstein said he would prefer the mandatory disclosure of the name of anyone as young as 12 who is accused of certain violent felonies.

Ginger Stanley, executive manager of the Virginia Press Association, which represents most of the daily and weekly newspapers in the state, agreed.

"We believe that the press is extremely responsible, and when there are safety issues that relate to your readers, we believe that the newspaper has the right to decide whether or not names should be published," Stanley said.

"We're not talking about a juvenile that pops open the mail box, who thinks that might be a fun thing to do," she said.

As juvenile crime has increased in recent years, the state has moved toward tougher treatment of young offenders. The increasing transfer of juveniles accused of particularly heinous crimes to the adult courts is one example.

However, Del. Jerrauld C. Jones, D-Norfolk, head of the Legislative Black Caucus, said he and many of his colleagues in the caucus oppose the trend toward bringing down the barriers between minors and adults.

"We believe in the tradition of the best interests of the child," Jones said. "We recognize the difference in age means a lack of sophistication, a lack of maturity.

In all other aspects of the law, such as contracts, minors are exempted, he said. The same applies in civil torts, in which adults are responsible for negligence but minors are not, Jones said.